Smithsonian Dodges Ameripex Show, Thus Raising Sticky Questions

August 18, 1985|By Les Winick.

We have read the horror stories coming out of Washington about ash trays for the Air Force that cost $694 and a screwdriver with a price tag of $900. This type of scandal had never touched our hobby--until now.

The Smithsonian Institution has refused to send a portion of the National Philatelic Collection to Chicago for exhibition at the once-in-a-decade stamp show, AMERIPEX `86, to be held May 22 through June 1, 1986 at the O`Hare Convention Center.

An exhibition of this magnitude was last held in Philadelphia, as part of the Bicentennial celebration, and the Washington-based museum participated in that event. This time, the Smithsonian said the museum could not afford security arrangements and asked Chicagoans to provide certain requirements.

The institution asked for 24-hour security, which was granted, since the entire exhibition will be under heavy guard around the clock.

The other requests were the straws that broke the camel`s back.

According to Linn`s Stamp newspaper, the Smithsonian asked for bullet-proof glass in all display frames and showcases. This type of glass, used in banks, costs almost $600 a sheet. The unanswered question is, ``Who is going to shoot at stamps?``

The other request was for an individual alarm on every display frame and every showcase. If someone leaned against the frame or the display case, the alarm would go off. Naturally, in a museum you can put ropes around the exhibits and people can still get close, but more than 100,000 visitors are expected at AMERIPEX, and the only way to look at stamps is to get close to them.

The exhibitors, with literally millions of dollars worth of stamps in their collections, are satisfied with the thick Plexiglass in the display frames and the presence of armed guards. The U.S. Postal Service and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing are also happy with the security arrangments at the O`Hare Convention Center. Both government organizations will have major exhibits at AMERIPEX.

The strange part of this scenario is that the Smithsonian Institution had a major exhibit at INTERPHIL `76. According to INTERPHIL`s documents, the Smithsonian asked the Philadelphians to pay only for the insurance on the exhibit while it was out of Washington; this amounted to $75.95. The Smithsonian did not ask for alarms or bullet-proof glass in 1976.

Did the museum rules change in the last 10 years? The only change was that a new bureaucrat took over who apparently feels that the 1846 charter, which states that the museum is dedicated to ``the increase and diffusion of knowledge,`` does not apply to stamps.

Another unusual example of Washington museum mentality is that after announcing that the Smithsonian could not afford to send an exhibit or speakers to Chicago, the Philatelic Division hired three additional curators. Thus the ``kingdom`` is expanded and the director has an even larger department.

In the late 1960s, a Chicagoan donated a very large and valuable German States stamp collection to the Smithsonian with the proviso that it be available for research by collectors. After approximately 10 years of sitting in its original cartons, an exhibit was made from a small portion of this material. This exhibit was on display for five years.

Efforts to learn what other philatelic material exists at the Smithsonian have met with dead ends. We do know that President Roosevelt donated the original artwork for the ``Mothers of America`` stamp, because the Smithsonian had a slide made of it in the 1930s and has been using it ever since. The Postal Service also has announced that it has given proof sheets of stamps to the institution.

The only announcement from the museum regarding its holdings came in June, 1984, and stated that the institution had completed an inventory. The job took five years and cost $8 million. For the trivia buff, the museum has 12,724,557 stamps and 872,780 coins.

AMERIPEX will go on with or without the Smithsonian. More than 100 countries will participate, the organizers have applications for almost 12,000 competitive display frames, the 200 dealers` booths are close to being sold out, charter flights will be coming in from various countries and other government agencies will have major exhibits. The show will be be the largest stamp exhibition ever held in the United States.

If you believe that the Smithsonian National Collection should be shown in Chicago at AMERIPEX, write your Congressman.